WP not expecting a 'welcome' mat at Loftus

REACTION: Western Province got their Currie Cup campaign back on track, but the mercury will rise considerably this week.

(64-10) Province finally opened their account with a 10-try bonus-point rout of a very ordinary Griffons team on a bone-dry pitch in Welkom this past Sunday.

After losses to the Bulls and Cheetahs in the opening two rounds, the Cape Town outfit put themselves back in the play-off race with a rout of the lowly Griffons.

Despite fielding a very young team, with just a sprinkling of senior players, WP had too much class for a side struggling with the quality of the opposition in their second season in South Africa’s premier domestic competition.

WP Director of Rugby John Dobson was ‘delighted’ with the emphatic win and has encouraged them to build on their performance this coming Saturday.

“The Bulls are probably running a very powerful, separate Currie Cup campaign, and they beat us at home,” he said of their 25-30 loss in Cape Town earlier this month.

Province also heads to Loftus Versfeld without several key players.

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Experience duo Jean-Luc du Plessis and Lizo Gqoboka were both injured against the Bulls in Round One.

Also sidelined are Connor Evans and Adre Smith.

“It’s going to be tough, but the win over the Griffons has helped us,” Dobson said.

“I want to see this Western Province group grow even more and keep getting better, before some players shift their focus towards the United Rugby Championship.

“The youngsters who stay on board will be key to us progressing in the Currie Cup campaign, and the game against the Bulls is crucial for them to get more exposure and play well.

“The Bulls are one of the competition’s most formidable teams, so it will be a good test to see where these youngsters are.

“We’re certainly going up to Pretoria to compete and put up another good performance.”

Dobson said the Welkom victory was very significant.

“It was important for Western Province to get a win,” he said, adding: “The mood in the changeroom hasn’t felt too great the last couple of weeks.

“Saying that, there were some good moments in both our previous games with largely an experimental team.

“Credit to the Griffons, it was certainly a difficult venue to play this weekend.

“However, what was important for us was exposing a whole different group of players to the pressures of the Currie Cup while getting the ‘W’.”

Several players also put their hands up.

“As a coaching staff, we’re very thrilled for a young guy like Johnny Roche, I thought he was exceptional.

“Hendré Stassen, who after a lengthy break from the game, put in a good shift and has made massive progress over the last three weeks.

“Imad Khan also looked sharper, and Blomme [Clayton Blommetjies] has been sidelined for almost nine months so would’ve been a bit rusty, so that’s why his outing was so successful.

“And also no serious injuries, just a few bumps and bruises.”